Community Dementia Advisor

**Background**

This post is one of six new ‘Community Dementia Adviser’ posts that have been created as part of the newly commissioned ‘Sandwell Community Dementia Support Service’.

The service will serve the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough and will be developed and delivered by a ‘Provider Collaborative’, comprising nine partner organisations. Sandwell Crossroads is the lead provider. Partner organisations are: Agewell CIC, Dementia Pathfinders CIC, West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre, Murray Hall Community Trust, St Albans Community Association, BUDS, Age UK Sandwell and Alzheimer’s Society. The ‘Sandwell Community Dementia Support Service’ became operational on 16th August 2021, replacing the Sandwell Dementia Navigator Service.

The Community Dementia Adviser post is offered as a 2-year fixed term appointment, with the potential of a further year, depending on contract performance.

The team will include the new post of Service Development Lead, three (FTE) pre-existing Dementia Navigator posts, six Community Dementia Advisers, each based in a town location, and a specialist Community Dementia Adviser focusing on young onset dementia and rarer types of dementia, employed by Alzheimer’s Society. Service users will be able to access additional support from Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Dementia Connect’ telephone support and information service.

Each of the six Community Dementia Advisers will be employed by a different partner organisation, as follows:

- Rowley Regis - Agewell CIC
- Oldbury - BUDS
- Tipton - Murray Hall Community Trust
- Smethwick - St Albans Community Association
- West Bromwich - West Bromwich African Caribbean Centre
- Wednesbury - Age UK Sandwell

Dementia Advisers will receive referrals from Dementia Navigators, in line with the agreed ‘service pathway’. Dementia Advisers will work with individuals with dementia and their families throughout their dementia journey. Each Dementia Adviser will work within a town location, and potentially, if the need arises, in an adjacent area, to support cover for a partner organisation, responding to geographical fluctuations in need.

**Summary of Job Description**

The ‘Community Dementia Adviser’ will be responsible for addressing wellbeing and social support needs of people diagnosed with dementia and family carers. Working as part of a team, ‘Community Dementia Advisers’ will focus on the strengths, interests and talents of people with dementia to offer social opportunities and meaningful engagement in community activities.

**Key dimensions**

Following the agreed ‘service pathway’, ‘Community Dementia Advisers’ will:

- Work with individuals living with dementia and their family carers, providing maintenance support and ‘call care’ according to the service casework model.
- Work collaboratively with Dementia Navigators to facilitate interventions for people with dementia and their families requiring ‘intensive’ support during periods of transition, complexity and crisis, involving statutory sector services as appropriate.
- Recruit, deploy and support volunteers, to encourage and facilitate people with dementia and family carers to participate in group activities; and to offer one-to-one befriending for individuals experiencing dementia, helping to provide respite for carers.
- Lead initiatives to create dementia friendly communities in the locality where they are based.

**Main duties and responsibilities**:

- To promote the ‘Sandwell Community Dementia Support Service’ within own local town, developing a network of support from health and social care professionals, encouraging referrals to the service through the ‘Single Point of Access’ at the earliest opportunity.
- To provide structured support to both the person with dementia and their carer for all allocated cases, following the agreed service pathway.
- To record within the shared CRM database (Charity Log) all actions undertaken and action points to follow up, as required, throughout the person’s journey with dementia.
- To co-develop with individuals with dementia and their carers and supporters, an agreed wellbeing/support plan, building on the initial assessment of the Dementia Navigator, checking and monitoring the outcomes to ensure quality care and provision is in place to support the person to remain living in their own home, avoiding unnecessary admission into hospital or longer-term care.
- To work collaboratively with Dementia Navigators to develop and deliver ‘Preparing for the Future’ training to support people with dementia and family carers to develop their Advance Care Plans and put in place Lasting Powers of Attorney.
- To ensure that information made available to people experiencing dementia and their carers is provided in the appropriate style that is easily understood, helpful and modified as necessary to suit individual needs.
- To reach-out to seldom heard groups, ethnic minority commu